Nuno Miguel de Braganca van Uden

Music

Fado Moves to Theatre Stages

During the 1930s and 1940s, fado singers like Hermínia Silva gained fame performing on theatre stages, moving fado from its origins in taverns and streets to broader audiences.

At the table

Shared Sardines and Bread-Based Diets

Ordinary families relied on bread, potatoes, and vegetable soups, with meat and fish reserved for special occasions or consumed in tiny, shared portions. It was common for a single sardine to be divided among three people, and poor families in rural areas often relied on seasonal produce from small garden plots.

News and letters

Radio usage under censorship and scarcity

Many Portuguese made personal sacrifices to access radio, which was essential for news due to strict censorship of the press.

What people wore

Barretes used as storage

Fishermen used their wool hats, known as 'barretes', as practical storage for tobacco, cigarette rolling papers, and matches.

Daily life

Lack of Basic Infrastructure in Homes

In rural areas, many homes lacked running water, electricity, and toilets, with families often using basic holes in the ground for sewage. Cooking typically occurred on floor-level fires without chimneys, leaving walls blackened by smoke.

Work

Cannery work dictated by factory sirens

Women in the sardine canning industry lived by the sound of factory sirens, rushing to work at any hour of the day or night whenever fish boats landed. They often worked 14 to 16 hours a day without fixed schedules, standing to clean, fillet, and hand-pack fish with meticulous speed.